Attachment for tractors



J. W. LIEDORFF May 12, 1925.

ATTACHMENT FOR TRACTORS Original Filed Aug. 2, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1gwwmtov mm w n a May 12, 1925.

J. w. LIEDORFF ATTACHMENT FOR TRACTORS Original Filed Aug. 2, 1923 2Sheets-Sheet 2 gwue foz Patented May 12, 1925.

or .CA'LL'AO, 'mssover.

'ATTAGHMEN.T FOR TRAGTORS.

Application IfileflfAugust 2, 21923, finial No. 655,300. ERenewedMarelrgo, ,1925

,To all whom .z't may icon-earn: i

:Be EltikHOWll that I, JEAMES WVMLIEnom F,

a 4 citizen lO'f :the United :States, iresiding at I Callao, 1in'the;county-of Macon; and/State of Missouri, lhave ainven'ted certain newrand insefnl dinprovernents in Attachments ifor illraetors, :of whichthe following :is :a speciifica-tion. i I o This application is .acontinuation illl part of an application filed "by me IOctober I9,;1922,:-Seria1,N0.:593301. 7

This invention (relates :to agricultural rim- ;p'lements :and has-forits :object :the :provision of means whereby ;an ordinary liarni"tractor :may be converted iintoi-a' maeliinewfor cultivating and{packing (the ;soil. The in- .vention seeks to {provide nieans which{may .be :readily :atteched :to :the tractor and serve esirollingssupports for itheasaine a'vhereby, :as the tractor ;is (drivenlover ithe rfield, the -5111- ;face qoif the soil will [be :pnlveri-zedandinade ,firm i-t-o constitute asseed bed. 'The driven the accompanying{fully set tion is illustrated in "drawings and will 'bGlhGFQlIlfiifH-BI:forth.

:In the zdrawin s:

Figure ;1 is ;a side 1 elevation of ;a well known farm tractorlcqnlppedavithmiy :i1n-

- provements;

mentality 'eomprisingia pluralit o-f rollers 2 having theirvpeniphcries; fitori'ning ridges. Elhe rollers are mounted in:indceltendibeatween trian gnlar brackets or end sfr'a'lnes :10 and theiZWO end ifraincs "ere iconnected :by wfrmne fbars:11iliaiiingtheipropor roross secational :outline to fit cll'oselyto-ithe mpper cor ners oftheen-d rames, 1A :firrn andrstrong structureis thus-produced sofith'attth irollers will be held togethergand may:rotate freely as the :machine :is" driven 'over the i'field. :Upon the:frame bars all :at ithe icenters 1 lll'lily be of any iwellsknownzfihereof, :iI secure a :tnrntable 12 and resting on :the :turntable :121s an npper ring or annulus 1:4 'WlIlCll :has it truss 15 formed uponione diameter of the same. A :VGItlCQIlEPlVOt bolt is afittedverticallythrough the truss 15 and @116 center i of the turntable andthrough ztheysi-de iwebs ofithe truss a horizontal pivot bolt is:fitted, the said Ebolt :being also ex :tended it hrongh :lugs :19:Which depend :froin or-rack 29 :formed on the adjacent edge oftheltnrntable 1-2. "Connectedrbya universal Joint to :the rearen'd ofthe. shaft 27 is an operatmgsteering :shaft 31 which extends upwardlyandireanwardly sfroln the said shaft- 27; and :has :its fl pper rearportion jouraraled in abrao'ket 532 aupon the body of the tractor, ahand wheel :33 being :provided nbonithe sreariexti'elnity 'of the saidsteering shaft. It Will bereadily understoodathatiro- :tation ofitheshaft 31 'willibertrensmitteddirectlyito the; sheftz27 andrthenceto theWorm 28-50 that thezrack or gear 29 Will be caused to nnove "forwardlyior rearwardly and, consequently, a turning movement will be impartcd:to ithe gang of rollers, so that ill Will assume an ;angularTPDSdf-lOIllGlflhlVB :to the body of thegtractor :and the machineicensed thereby :tOHfQllOW any desiredqcourse.

,Afteitathe gangiofyrollersfllias been secured in position winderthelforward end of "the {tractor ,in the described manner and 'by therdescribeduneans, the rear end otithe tractor is yjacliedup andcylindrical shells Mere se- :cured abontitheu ear driving :whee'ls ofthe tractor. Elie inside rdian'ieter of each shell 3'4: iszsuch thattheshell @maybe easily'fitted :abou the tractor wheel "and about the tree--tion cleats 36 ordinarily ,PlOilClGCl uponztho ,periplieries of said,wheels, and to the inner circumferential surface of each shell, Isecure e plurality of beams -or Lshaped bars 37 which extend across theshell inlines parallel Withzthe axis ofthe same, as willbe .-readilyunderstood upon reference to Figs. -1 an'd3. ilhese beams 'senvertobrace the shells so zthat they Will not collapse under :the "rough usageand the :strains to which they are naturally subjected and their innerend portions, or those portions nearer the tractor when the shells arein place, are bent laterally so that they will lie parallel with thecleats 36, as shown clearly in Fig. 3. The beams 37 are provided in suchnumbers that the bent or deflected end 38 of each beam will be disposedbetween two tractor cleats 36 and adjacent one of said cleats while thealternate cleats will be freeor without an I-beam adjacent thereto. Tothe surface of each bracing beam 8? remote from the shell 34 I secure aclip plate 39 having a hooked terminal 40 adapted to engage over theflange or rib ll at the edge of the tractor wheel 35, as shown clearlyin Fig. 4-, and these clips may be secured at various points along thebeams so that the shell 34 will entirely house the tractor wheel or maypermit more or less of the inner end of the wheel to remain uncoveredaccording to the work which is to be done, the nature of the soil andother controlling circumstances. Of course, when a portion of thetractor wheel is to be left uncovered, the clips will be secured to thelaterally deflected portions of the I-beams or braces and a lesserlength of the deflected portion of the beams willibe secured to therimsof the tractor wheels. It will, of course, be' understood that thebracing beams are secured rigidly to the respective shells by bolts orrivets inserted through the outer flanges of the beams and the shellsand the deflected portions of the beams will be secured rigidly to thetractor wheels by bolts or rivets inserted through the inner flanges ofthe beams and the rims or treads of the wheels. Upon the exterior ofeach shell 34, I secure an outer shell which is corrugated, as shown at42, so that each shell is provided with a plurality of annular ridges 43correspond ing to the tapered annular edges of the front rollers 2.Vvithin the troughs or depressions between the ridges 43 at the innerends of the shells are secured or formed transverse blocks or teeth 44which constitute spading blades, and these spading blades may beprovided in any desired number and in any desired relation. Ordinaril y,the spadiug teeth or blades will be provided in the trough nearest theinner end of.

the shell and in the third trough, counting from the inner end of theshell, but they may be provided throughout the entire surface of theshell if so desired.

shell will be held taut to resist buckling. While the shell 34 lendsstrength to the structure, it may be omitted and the beams 37 secureddirectly to the corrugated shell 42.

The shells 34 having been secured in proper position upon the rearwheels of the tractor in the described manner, the rear portion of thetractor is lowered so that the said shells will rest upon the ground andthe tractor is then operated in the usual manner so as to travel overthe field. In its travel, the tapered ridges presented by the front gangof rollers and the shells upon the rear wheels will out into the surfaceof the soil and. will divide and turn aside the same so that it will beeffectually loosened, any roots which may be present being cut and clodsor lumps of dirt being thoroughly pulverized. At the same time thetroughs presented by the rollers and shells will serve to pack theturned over portions of the soil so that the surface will be made firmand moisture which may be in the soil below the surface will beconserved. As shown in Fig. 2, the rear shells are secured upon thetractor wheels in such position that the tractor wheels are entirelyenclosed and the inner ends of the shells are in alinement with the endsof the front gang so that the entire surface of the field will be actedupon by the several ridges and troughs. When the several elements arethus arranged, the machine will be adapted to roll the ground solid andthe tractor may at the same time pull a harrow, a cultivator, or aplanter in rear of the rear shells so that the work of preparingtheground and planting the crop may be simultaneously performed. If itbe desired to cultivate growing corn, the rear shells are set so as topermit a portion, usually about four inches, of the inner ends of therear tractor wheels to project from the inner ends of the shells and themachine is then driven along the rows of corn, the front gang passingbetween two rows of corn which will pass between the sides of thetractor and the inner ends of the shells. It will be, of course, readilyunderstood that the bracing beams which are secured to the inner sidesof the shells will support the tractor wheels above the surface of theground in this operation so that the traction cleats will not break orotherwise damage the young plants. If the rear shells be entirelyremoved when the ground is dry or when it is desired to plow a ground inwhich stalks may be standing, a plow or gang of plows may be coupled tothe tractor so that, if the tractor bethen driven over the field, thefront gang of rollers will make a dust mulch ahead of the plows or willout up the standing stalks and produce a good rich mulch ahead of theplows.

My invention provides mechanism which may be produced at a reasonablecost and readily applied to any tractor at a slight expense and withoutrequiring skilled labor. here my devices are provided, the farmer isenabled to readily and easily perform whatever operations may be neededto bring his soil into proper condition for the planting of a crop orcultivating a young crop without being required to provide a largenumber of separate implements. The spading blades upon the rear shellsnot only serve to break up and spade the soil but also furnish thedesired traction so that the tractor with my improvements appliedthereto may be driven over the field exactly as it is ordinarilyoperated and without requiring any change in the construction orarrangement of any of its operating parts. The mounting for the frontgang of rollers permits the rollers to follow any inequalities in thesurface of the ground without disturbing the level of the tractor andalso permits the said front gang to be shifted angularly relative to thetractor so that the steering of the tractor will be easily accomplishedwhile at the same time the gang will be firmly held in a set angularrelation to the tractor.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is: y I v 1.Mechanism for the purposes set forth comprising a cylindrical shellhaving circumferentially extending corrugations on its external surface,and means for securing said shell around the rear wheel of a tractor.

2. Mechanism for the purposes set forth comprising a cylindrical, shelladapted to encircle the driving wheel of a'tractor and the cleats onsaid wheel, braces secured rigidly to the inner surface of the shell andhaving deflected portions adapted to be secured uponthe outer surface ofthe tractor driving wheel, and clips secured to the said bracing membersand adapted to engage driving wheel rim.

over the flange atthe edge of the tractor 3. Mechanism for the purposeSet forth comprising a cylindrical shell adapted to encircle thetraction wheel of a tractor and having a corrugated outer surface, andbracing members secured upon the inner surface of the shell and havingdeflected portions adapted to bear upon the outer surface of thetraction wheel and be secured thereto.

4. Mechanism for the purpose set forth comprising a cylindrical shelladapted to fit about the traction wheel of a tractor and about thecleats on said wheel, bracing elements secured upon the inner surface ofthe shell and adapted to be secured upon the outer surface of thetraction wheel between the traction cleats thereof, the said shellhaving a transverse corrugated outer surface, and spading blades securedwithin some of the corrugations of said surface.

5. Mechanism for the purpose setforth comprising a corrugated shell,means for securing said shell about a traction wheel, and blades withinsome of the corrugations of the shell. V

6. Mechanism for the purpose set forth comprising a corrugated shelladapted to encircle'a traction wheel, and bracing beams securedlongitudinally upon the inner circumference of the shell and adapted tobe secured upon the outer circumference of the traction wheel.

7. Mechanism for the purpose set forth comprising a corrugated shell,means for securing one end portion of the shell about a traction wheel,a central ring within the other end portion" of the shell, and bracesextending between said ring and the shell.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

JAMES W. LIEDOR-FF. [n s]

